BJP adds Bangalore jewel to south crown

The BJP has bagged the Bangalore municipal corporation for the first time, pulling off a surprise victory in the information technology hub at a time the party-run Karnataka government is grappling with faction feuds.

The BJP won an outright majority, securing 112 of the 198 civic seats.

The is the first time in 54 years that a Sangh parivar affiliate is winning the reins of the city, where the Congress used to hold sway and elections were due over three years ago.

Bangalore will now become the jewel in the BJP southern crown. Karnataka is also the first — and so far, the sole — state in the region with a government led by the party.

The triumph in Bangalore is in line with the 2008 Assembly election results in which the BJP had won 17 of the 28 seats within the corporation area. However, since then, the fortunes of the BJP had taken a dive because of rebellion that had pushed the government to the brink.